Glee's Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, & Chris Colfer Not Returning for Season Four

After this upcoming season, Rachel, Finn, and Kurt will not be walking the halls of McKinley High anymore. Glee creator Ryan Murphy announced that the three characters, played by Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Chris Colfer, will be graduating at the end of season three.

"You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year," Ryan says.

Ryan also adds that "more characters are leaving than staying" after the show wraps its third season. "We made that decision and I involved Chris and Lea and they thought that was a good idea," he says. "They both trust the writing and trust me and felt that it would be great to have an open and closed experience for them to go out while they were on top."

And while loyal Gleeks are in complete outrage at the loss of their favorite characters, Lea took to her Twitter to address the news. "We always knew we'd graduate in real time," she Tweeted. "It's all part of the plan and it's all good! Its going to make Season 3 amazing! To Gleeks everywhere, you're in my heart now and forever. Love you all!!! This is just the beginning."

The news also happen to break just hours before Chris received another Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series.